Blog: Cats Are Grey

Due to general busyness I haven't had as much time to draw as I would like. So, there is no new drawing today. By Wednesday everything will be back on track through. Promise. In the meantime, you can enjoy my new hobby, collecting pictures of musicians shopping for records/cds. Here are the Breeders (a drawing of them is coming up soon): Damon Albarn (later this week I'll post about his incredible show at Lincoln [...]

Sonic Youth played a free Fourth Of July show in Battery Park last Friday and it was incredible. They began with "She Is Not Alone" off their first EP (recently reissued with live bonus tracks). During the song Thurston began a trademark feedback noise jam, smashing his guitar against his amp and then diving into the crowd. A Rolling Stone intern was slightly injured in the process. Good thing he wasn't around to cover Suicide in the '70's. (You should click that link. Amazing video!) [...]

I've been really intrigued by the 8 bit music scene for a while. On June 28th I finally got around to seeing some artists perform live at The Tank 's monthly chiptunes showcase: Pulsewave . The Tank is a small and friendly club in Tribeca. The crowd seemed to be in their late teens/early twenties and were excited and DANCING! A welcome change from the stoic, self conscious, immovable crowds I keep encountering at shows. On the bill that night were [...]

• Bubblyfish - From Inner Shadow To Outer Shadow
• Neil Voss - End If

Cecil Taylor played at The Concert Hall on June 20th, 2008 as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. Seeing Cecil Taylor solo is always an intense experience. He is one of the founders of "free jazz" and his performances are challenging and complex but also beautiful and mesmerizing. Cecil Taylor plays the piano differently than anyone else in the world of jazz. At first, he always seems to be pounding the keys randomly, attacking them with an amazing amount of energy and ferocity (sometimes with his elbows). But as his performance continues, usually for over an hour without [...]

Teenage Jesus and The Jerks were a seminal New York No Wave band that existed from 1976-1979. They reunited to play two Friday the 13th shows at The Knitting Factory to coincide with the publication of Thurston Moore and Byron Coley's book No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980. If the shows are ever released as a record, the drawing above is my idea for what the record cover should look like. James Sclavunos, Teenage Jesus' former bass player, moved over to drums for the show. [...]

Here are grunge rockers Mudhoney, who performed at The Highline Ballroom on June 7th. Lead singer, sometimes guitarist, Mark Arm is a werewolf. You can tell because his werewolf toes have ripped through the tops of his shoes. Werewolves go through more shoes that way. The rest of the band are various zombie animals. Mudhoney played during the horrible heatwave of 2008. For some reason it was hotter inside the Highline than outside. And outside it felt like walking around in an oven. The crowd was made up of a bizarre group of strange people, most of whom [...]

On May 25th The Sun Ra Arkestra celebrated the 84th birthday of band director Marshall Allen at Sullivan Hall in New York. The Arkestra played for an hour and a half, took a break for free cake and moon pies for all, and then played for another hour and a half. Both sets uniquely mixed together traditional jazz, free jazz, space music, African music, electronic and acoustic instruments, vocals and retro-futuristic costumes. The Arkestra is probably the most exciting thing happening in jazz today and I was very excited to hear they [...]

Here are Foals playing music in a little cabin during a zombie attack. Good luck Foals! Their show at Maxwell's was wonderful. It began with Yannis Philippakis leaving the stage and walking around the audience bumping into people like a crazy person. Then he returned to the stage and told everyone to try the Piña Coladas. Their set list was the same as at the Bowery but the smallness of Maxwell's made for a more intense show. At one point Yannis just looked homicidally miserable and guitarist Jimmy Smith explained to the [...]

New Zealand's The Ruby Suns are the brain child of ex-Californian Ryan McPhun. They opened for Foals at Maxwell's with McPhun on vocals, guitar and drums, Amee Robinson on keyboards and bass, and Imogen Taylor on keyboards and flute. I was surprised and delighted by their sound--dream pop with a heavy mix of traditional African and Polynesian sounds and strong hints of '80s synth pop. It's refreshing to hear a band take advantage of a multitude of different sounds and musical ideas and exciting to hear a band that does it well. I picked up The Ruby Suns [...]